The Cell
by Soldier Boy
Summary: A small cell of partisans and their struggle against the Soviet war machine.
1. Infiltrations and Explosions

2112 - 28Oct03

A teenage girl ran through the streets, firing as she ran at the Soviet troops chasing her. Running in a random direction, she was quickly cornered, her magazine expended. She dropped her pistol as she tried to reload. The Soviet troops gathered around her. Suddenly gunshots rang out over the sound of an approaching engine and two of the Soviets dropped as a black SUV careened through the empty night streets. The driver sped straight at her, applied his brake and turned, started a controlled fish-tail, ending perpendicular to her. Muzzle-flashes lit the night as multiple weapons opened up the Soviets. A teen with a kevlar helmet and a mini-14 spat lead from where he had popped out of the sun roof, adding his fire to the full auto being poured through one of the rear windows. Then it was quiet. The girl looked on in shock. One of the back doors popped open, and another teen, sighting down a AK-74 resting on the open window motioned to her for several seconds.  
"You gonna just fuckin' stand there!" the roof gunner yelled as he dropped into the SUV, snapping her out of her trance.  
As she ran to the car, the door gunner squeezed himself into his seat to allow her to pass.  
"We're kinda short on room." the roof gunner said, gesturing to the row of seating behind them filled with crates of weaponry and ammo.  
"But you can sit on my lap." he said with a smirk as she jumped into the unoccupied seat in the middle row.  
"Punch-it Sarge!" the roof gunner yelled at the driver before turning to their newest passenger as the vehicle lurched into motion.  
"Fuckin' rooskies, always pickin' on somebody. By the way, we're Sarge, Smith, Boomer and Gunner." he said in turn pointing to the driver, the front passenger, the door gunner and himself.  
"I-m...I'm Susan." she said.  
"now, unless I'm mistaken, you have some data we need to get to somebody." he said as the vehicle drove through the streets at break-neck speed. They drove for almost an hour, sticking to the backroads and circling the city, before finally arriving at an abandoned industrial complex in an unoccupied part of town. The rescuers left the vehicle and entered the building. The soft orange glow of sodium bulbs mixed with the harsh, sterile blue-tinge of the newer halogen bulbs, reflecting from the relatively well-swept concrete floor. The original purpose of the building was now lost, all of the equipment having been moved out, although attachment points and bolt holes were still present in the floor at seemingly random intervals. Metal I-beams extended from the floor to the ceiling two stories above them, the beams at the front supporting a loft. A walled office sat off to one side, probably a foreman's. In one corner sat several desks covered with about a half-dozen computers and their various paraphenelia. Atleast one of the computers was partially disassembled. A workbench stood near the entrance, several weapons, including an RPG sat in various states of repair, next to a few minor metal working machines, like metal lathes and grinders. The center of the bulding was filled with a mass of Soviet crates, weapons, ammunition, supplies, everything they could need.  
"By the way Gunner, you're hit." Boomer said as they stepped inside and pointed at his left shoulder.  
Gunner glanced at his wound.  
"Well fuck me!" he said as he poked the hole with his right index finger.  
"Looks like a ricochet. Hey Sarge! Gimme your fuckin' Gerber"  
Sarge pulled his multi-tool from it's holster and threw it at Gunner, who caught it. Susan came over and looked at his shoulder as he prepared the pliers on the multi-tool.  
"Do you know what you're doing?" she asked.  
"Don't worry. He gets shot all the time." Boomer said.  
"Shut-up nipple-dick"  
Gunner pulled on it for a couple of seconds.  
"Boomer, it's lodged in the bone. Hold my shoulder"  
Boomer complied and after several seconds of yanking, the bullet audibly displaced from the bone.  
"Beth! Patch job!" Gunner yelled as blood began slowly dripping onto the floor from his elbow.  
An attractive young lady, her long, red hair tied in a pony-tail, walked out of the office. She was dressed in boots, fatigue pants, and an olive-drab tube-top. She turned to look at him and saw his arm.  
"What happened to you"  
"Uhhhh...I got shot." he responded, as if the answer was obvious.  
"Come on." she said angrily, grabbing his left arm and beginning to pull him into the room.  
"Ow! That's the INJURED arm!" he yelled as he was dragged into her "office.  
The office contained three cots, one for Beth and two for patients. A small hand mirror and several beauty products lay under a layer of dust on a chair in the corner, make-up had not been high on her list of priorities, though she was still attractive bare-faced. A large box of 9x18 mm makarov rounds sat in another corner, the original Russian packing seals still intact. Her bison SMG leaned against her desk, which was covered with first aid kits and various implements of the medical trade. She forced him down on one of the cots, removed his shirt, and began stitching his wound after cleaning it with alcohol. Boomer stuck his head in the door.  
"You know Sparks is pissed that you got blood all over his floor, right"  
"Yeah, I bet he is. Who's on watch"  
"Lurch." Boomer replied.  
"So then Scope is sleeping again"  
"What else does he do"  
Gunner got up and put on his shirt.  
"Well, I should probably go entertain our 'guest'. You didn't leave her with Sarge, did you"  
"No, we don't need her pregnant. I left her with Smith"  
"Good choice." Gunner said as he left.  
Susan was looking around the somewhat cluttered interior of their home.  
"Can I help you? Gunner asked in a sarcastic voice.  
"Don't you guys have anything heavier than small arms?" she asked.  
"We got about fifteen kilos of plastique, plus accessories, there's a PKM in our guard position, but we only have about a hundred rounds for it. We DO have several boxes of RPG rockets, but our launcher was damaged. Sparks is workin' on it"  
"Don't forget about the 'tube." Boomer added.  
"Oh yeah, we stole a Soviet mortar and some rounds, but we're not smart enough to use it. The shells make awesome I.E.D.s though"  
Susan moved in a new direction, continuing to explore their 'facility.  
"Yeah, make yourself at home!" Gunner yelled after her, his voice tinged with sarcasm.  
She stopped at a bulletin board hung with newspaper clippings.  
"You guys keep track of other resistance actions?" she asked as she scanned the articles.  
"No, it's our trophy wall"  
"You guys pulled off the May-Day assassination"  
"Well, actually, it was Scope's shot"  
"But it was broad daylight! And they never caught the shooter"  
"I know"  
"And the Main Street massacre, the Alamo raid, the jailbreak at Bexar County Correctionql, these are legends to the other groups! You guys-" she stopped. As she looked around, she realized the calibur of people she was in the presence of. Their weapons were worn, but clean and in perfect working order. Their clothes were patched and faded, except for the American flag patches on their shoulders. These partisans were diligently going about their tasks, even with her as a distraction. They were consumate professionals. Everthing they did they did with a purpose. She looked around, they were preparing for something. Boomer was building breaching charges, Beth was packing supplies in her office, Scope cleaned his weapon, everyone was performing their own preparations. Gunner suddenly appeared at her side, holding a folded American flag.  
"Here." he said, handing it to her.  
"I'm sure you'll put it to good use. Now if you'll excuse us, we're prepping for am op, so you need to leave." he said bluntly.  
"Is it big?" she asked expectantly.  
"You could say that. Goodbye." he said waving.  
"Can I-we help"  
"Um...no. I don't know you and I don't trust you. You've already wasted alot of our time with Sarge's little 'rescue', so...shoo." he said pushing her out the door.  
He turned to his comrades.  
"Alright, get your gear out here and ready! Sand table in 30!"

0232 - 29Oct03

"Go." Gunner whispered as he held open the hole in the fence.  
Sarge put the bolt cutters back in his ruck as Lurch covered Sparks, Scope, Beth and the others as they crossed the empty and sparsely lit parking lot. The dozen or so 'resistance commandos' wore a motley assortment of uniforms, parts scavenged from Soviet and U.S. military uniforms mixed with civilian clothing. Their weapons were a similar grab bag. As each fighter reached the building, they hid in it's shadow, turning to cover their comrades. Within a few minutes, they had all crossed. Gunner moved to the front of the line as they stacked by the door.  
"That's a solid-looking door." Bommer said.  
An understatement. The door to the bunker-like laboratory was an inch of solid steel.  
"It's cool." Gunner said as he pushed on the door.  
The door opened, revealing a dark and empty lounge "How did you-" Smith started.  
"Insider." Gunner said.  
"Sparks-" he began.  
"Fire and internal alarms. Got it." Sparks said, moving to the computer behind the desk.  
Gunner walked to the trash can in the corner, pulled out the bag and reached inside. There was the sound of detaching tape, and Gunner pulled out an electronic key card. He walked to the end of the room and swiped the card. The door slid open and the Soviet guard behind the desk looked up from his book. He reached for his rifle, but Gunner's weapon was already up. His silenced .45 caliber pistol double-tapped the guard, who now hung lifeless over the chair back, his helmet clattering to the floor. Gunner walked across the room, the soldier moaning as he passed. Without breaking stride, Gunner stuck his arm out and shot him in the temple, scattering his brains.  
"Damn it." he said as he started to clear the stove-piped casing in the ejection port.  
Suddenly another guard appeared around the corner in front of him. He leveled his weapon at Gunner, who didn't have time to draw another another weapon or to clear the one in his hand. A series of rapid, dull clacks followed by multiple soft metallic clicks suddenly eminated from behind the guard, his body jerking in time with the noise before hitting the ground. A heavily armed soldier in an American uniform stepped out of the shadow of the stairwell.  
"Identify yourself." he said, still sighting down his MP-5SD5.  
"Callsign: Dark Squire." Gunner said.  
"Callsign: Black Knight. Authenticate. Orange cat"  
"Blue dog"  
The soldier lowered his weapon.  
"So you're our contact?" he asked.  
"Gunner, at your service"  
"Specialist Biggs, U.S. Special Forces. Good to see you"  
Gunner shook his hand.  
"You guys got our way in like you promised?" the specialist asked.  
"Yeah. Where's the rest of your team"  
"They're back upstairs, we infiled through the roof"  
"Well, follow me." Gunner said as he returned downstairs and collected his teams who were holding a perimeter.  
The resistance fighters and the SF team took up positions as Gunner and the SF CPT moved down the stairwell to the subterranian levels. The security door at the bottom was easily opened with Gunner's key card, and the combatants spread out over the laboratory complex. The dark lab was larger in size than a football field, cluttered with lab tables, networked computer and other assorted scientific paraphenalia.  
"Sparks, Lurch, Worm." Gunner said and pointed at a computer as they moved past.  
Sparks flashed a thumbs-up and moved to the computer. He pulled some electronic gear out of his pack and went to work on the computer, Lurch and Worm taking up positions to cover him. The other soldiers continuing with their sweep and search. They found what they wanted through another locked door at the end of the lab. Three large horizontal tanks, thirty feet long and about ten feet tall.  
"You boys know what this shit is?" CPT Aarons asked, pointing at the tanks with his AN-93.  
"Heavy water, H2O+. Destined for the Soviet atomic weapons program." Gunenr replied.  
"Boomer do it." Gunner said.  
"Boomer pulled out a trio of 'smasher' charges from his ruck and began to set them, placing one on the flat end of each tank.  
"Does he know what he's doing?" SPC Juarez, one of the SF engineers asked.  
"Yeah, I wondered that the first time he did this shit too, but he's never let me down." Gunner said.  
Gunner pushed the earpiece of his radio closer to his ear and listened for a second.  
"Boomer, we need to leave. Everybody get clear." Gunner said.  
"Watch this." Bommer said as he hit the detonator all three charges were attached to.  
The small explosive charges directed their force into the tanks, putting incredible pressure on the liquid inside. The liquid, unable to compress, burst out the opposite side of the tanks, tearing them open. Boomer bowed as PFC Grey, the other SF engineer, clapped. Gunner turned to them.  
"We need to leave." he repeated, emphasizing the last word.  
He turned around and ran through the door. The others took the hint and followed suit.  
"What's up?" Sparks asked without looking up from his work as they ran by.  
"Get out." Gunner said with urgency.  
The group hurried up the stairs. AS they ran up the last flight, they heard shots from one of Gunner's sentries.  
"Whadda we got?" Gunner yelled as he hurried up the stairs.  
"200+ troops and armour comin' from the garrison." came Tango's reply.  
"Must've tripped an alarm." Gunner said.  
Boomer reached the top of the stairs first, messily terminating the two Soviet soldiers there with his shotgun.  
"Reds inside!" he hollared back down the stairs.  
The combatants quickly spread through the building, taking up positions at the windows.  
"Kelly! Get up on the rooftop!" the SF CPT yelled to the soldier with a drawn M-11 and a light .50 slung on his back.  
"Roger." he said and ran off.  
Gunner, CPT Aarons, one of the SF RTOs, SPC Brown, as well as several of the resistance fighters, began opening fire as the Soviets moved towards them. Gunner popped in and out of the cover provided by the window, leaning out to fire at random intervals. Two rounds, one round, three, one, one, three, two. Suddenly several BMPs and a pair of T-85s appeared from around a building.  
"Shit." Gunner said as he ducked back and changed magazines.  
"Biggs!" the captain yelled.  
Running feet sounded on the stairs and the soldier who had saved Gunner appeared. The CPT pointed at the window and opened his mouth to talk.  
"On it." Biggs said before the CPT could speak.  
He unslung his paratrooper RPG and began assembling it.  
"Loader!" he yelled as he finished and shouldered the weapon.  
Brown grabbed a rocket out of Biiggs' pack and readied it, inserting it into the launcher and giving it a quarter turn.  
"Clear!" Brown yelled and stuck his fingers in his ears.  
The room filled with a roar and a heavy heat for a fraction of a second as the rocket streaked towards the lead T-85. Gunner watched as the perfectly-aimed round impacted the tank on the turret ring. The tank exploded spectacularly, the turret flying into the air. By the time Gunner looked up, the RPG had already been reloaded and Biggs was searching for another target. He fired at the closest vehicle, a BMP. The APC exploded in a ball of fire. A flaming person half-rolling, half-jumping from one of the hatches a second later.  
"Last round!" Brown yelled.  
Biggs took careful aim and shot the remaining T-85. As the round struck the turret, the hatches blew open, flame and smoke billowing forth. The tank moved forward for several seconds, before turning and stopping part-way into a building, blocking the remaining vehicles from entering the courtyard. Infantry continued to stream towards their position, putting them under ever increasing amount of fire while draining their supply of ammunition. The situation looked bad, several of the SF men had already been forced to switch to their pistols. As Gunner loaded his last magazine, he turned to CPT Aarons and extended his hand.  
"Pleasure to have served with you, sir"  
The CPT took his hand and shook it.  
"Likewise. You're a credit to your kind. It's an honor to have it end with men like you and your team"  
Gunner slapped up on the magazine.  
"Last chance box, captain, time to dance?" Gunner asked calmly.  
The CPT nodded and followed Gunner down the stairs to the ground floor. Gunner gathered several of his men, as did the captain and together they moved into the courtyard, spewing lead. Gunner fired into a group of reds,dropping two. He ducked into cover behind a conex container just as a bullet grazed his left shoulder, leaving a shallow, bloody furrow.  
"Fuck!" he yelled.  
"Wow, I guess somebody REALLY doesn't like you." Boomer said as he got up from where he had leapt behind the container after him.  
"Yeah, same shoulder. What're the odds?" Gunner asked as he finished off his magazine and drew his .45.  
"Ready for martyrdom?" Cooper asked as he changed magazines on his sagat shotgun.  
"Always." Gunner replied as he gave a hand signal to several combatants hunkering behind a bullet ridden Taurus. Gunner jumped from his position of cover, screaming a death-yell at the top of his lungs. Boomer followed his example, as did every friendly fighter within visual range. Gunner ran straight at a group of Soviet soldiers, firing with both hands. He emptied the magazine, dropping a man everytime the pistol bucked in his hands. He dropped the pistol and pulled out his kukri without breaking stride and slashed the throat of the remaining soldier, spraying blood everywhere. More Soviets continued to flood the area. Suddenly, the second T-85 hulk, the only thing keeping out Soviet armour, began to move. The wreckage was pushed aside by a third T-85, equiped with a dozer-blade. The tank's turret turned towards Gunner, it's coaxial machine gun chewing-up the pavement as it locked onto him. Gunner pulled a grenade and ran at it, unsure of exactly what would happen next, but determined to go down fighting. All of their anti-tank weapons had been expended, and he was out of ammo. As he got about ten meters from it and prepared to pull the pin, the tank exploded, throwing him backwards and scorching his eyebrows and 5 o'clock shadow. Gunner picked himself up, slightly dazed and ducked into cover. A second or two later, when his ears had stopped ringing, he heard a noise that almost confused him. Yells and cheers, in English. A second group of partisans had appeared and were driving off the Russians with small arms and several technicals. Within several minutes, all the reds were gone. Gunner gathered his dropped weapons as well as his men. He quickly searched for the SF soldiers, but they had already faded into the night. He eventually approached a partisan after scavenging some ammo and equipment from the dead reds. The blue-haired partisan was dressed as though she'd just came from a rave, right down to the pacifier hanging around her neck.  
"Who's in charge of you guys?" he asked gruffly.  
The partisan pointed at the closest technical, a Ford truck with a Dshk mounted in his bed. He walked up and slammed his fist several times on the heavily tinted driver's-side window.  
"Who's in charge here!" he yelled loudly.  
"The window rolled down.  
"Hey Gunner!" Susan said. 


	2. The Rescue

1656 hrs.05Feb04

"No. No no no no no. What part of NO don't you understand? The N, or the O?" Gunner practically yelled.  
"Come on, we work for the same cause. Besides, you owe us." Susan's second-in-command said.  
"Owe you! How do you figure that"  
"We saved you, remember"  
"Uh, yeah. After we saved her ass. The way I see it, we're even"  
"Fine. Then we'll owe you"  
I don't need your favors"  
"Uh...Gunner, lemme talk to you. In private." Boomer said.  
Gunner sighed and followed Boomer into Beth's 'office', which was currently vacant.  
"This had better be good." Gunner said, slightly pissed.  
"Why don't we help'em out man"  
"I can't believe I'm hearing this"  
Come on, you never know when me might need it"  
"Boomer, you don't throw scraps to the lost puppy. It'll follow you around anyway man"  
"Where's your sense of duty? Your loyalty to the cause? Come on man, she needs our help"  
"My loyalty is-wait a minute. You're trying to get into her pants, aren't you!" Gunner said as it clicked.  
"No." Boomer said quickly, his eyes darting around.  
"Boomeeer"  
"Maybe"  
"It is God-damnit Boomer"  
"What"  
"You're willing to get us all killed so you can get a piece. Are you REALLY that desperate"  
"No, I'm willing to get us all killed to accomplish a legitimate objective. Gettin' some action is just a fringe benefit"  
"I hate you sometimes"  
"Come on. You know your way around the place. Let's bust Susan out! Think of the blow it'll be for'em"  
"What's in it for me?" Gunner said with a sigh, seeing how futile the argument was.  
"Uhmm... whaddaya want"  
"I heard you got the last gallon left of Spark's last batch of 'good' moonshine"  
"Awww, come on. I was gonna use it to help me get inside her pants"  
"You don't need it all! A gallon's enough to kill BOTH of you! Gimme half, you'll still have plenty"  
Boomer chewed his lip for several seconds.  
"Fine." he said, glaring at Gunner.  
"Alright, now watch this." Gunner said before exiting the room and resuming the meeting.  
"Why would you even come to me?" Gunner asked the 'second.  
"Susan always said that if anything happened to her, that we should find you. Besides, you've already escaped from there once. You're the only person who can do it"  
Gunner pretended to think it over for a good fifteen or twenty seconds.  
"Alright, I like to consider myself a fair man, so I'll make you a deal. There are certain supplies that I require. Get me two RPGs and a thousand PKM rounds"  
The second sighed deeply.  
"Alright. It'll take two or three days to get all that." he said skeptically.  
"Well, then we launch in two to three days"  
"I can get them tonight"  
"Well, then we launch in eight hours"  
Gunner took several steps away from the table before turning around and looking back up at the 'second and his entourage.  
"Why are you still here? Don't you have some supplies to gather?" Gunner said, irritated.  
Several of them mumbled something as they stood-up and left.  
"The fuck did you get us into now?" Smith asked.  
"Don't worry, it's nothin' I can't handle. Besides, we need the supplies"  
"Well, you know what you're gettin' into. I guess we do need the launchers since Sparks still hasn't fixed the RPG"  
"Hey fucker, if I don't have the parts, I don't have the parts! I ain't got the equipment to fabricate'em here!" Sparks yelled from computer.  
"Calm down, calm down, I know. Beth! Boomer! Scope! Sarge! Get your shit together and down here for a pre-combat inspection, bring disposable weapons! Looks like we party tonight!"

0157 hrs.06Feb04

"The roof is on fire." Scope said from his high and far position overlooking the Bexar County Correctional Facility, giving the code over the radio for the changing of the guard. The assault group now had a small time window in which this section of the perimeter was unguarded. Beth, Boomer, Gunner and Sarge quickly ran to the base of the guard tower, staying out of LOS of the top. Boomer quickly pulled the bolt cutters from the top of Gunner's rucksack and stood by the fence. Gunner gave the ready phrase.  
"The sickness is rising." he said into his radio.  
Scope took careful aim at the target that had been pointed out to him earlier and fired. The transformer exploded, all power to the prison being cut-off. The complex was dark for about a dozen seconds while the prison's generators kicked in. By then, they had cut the fence and were hiding in the shadow of the massive building. They stayed in the shadow of the building, moving to a junction box on the wall.  
"Crack it." Gunner said, standing watch with SMG at the ready.  
Boomer cut the lock off and took overwatch as Gunner attached the device Sparks had given him exactly as he had been instructed.  
"Go?" he asked quietly into his radio.  
"Yeah. Gimme two." Sparks replied.  
The seconds seemed to take forever as they passed.  
"Go." Sparks said finally.  
The group moved covertly to the nearby door. Several seconds later the electronic locks clicked open as Sparks continued to remotely hack the prison's system.  
"I've got to find a way to disappear." Sparks semi-sang, signalling that the security camera inside the doorway would not show their presence. The group quietly entered the prison through the emergency exit. Gunner pulled a notepad from his left cargo pocket and checked the hand-drawn map.  
The devil went down to Georgia." Gunner said.  
Several seconds passed before a frantic announcement in Russian came over the radio. Gunner looked expectantly at Beth.  
"'Says there's a mass escape in cell block B. That's all the way across the prison from Susan." she said with a smile.  
'So he managed to release them all. Good job.' Gunner thought.  
They gave about thirty seconds for their objective to empty before moving down the hall.Gunner, on point, suddenly ducked back around the corner, giving the freeze signal. A single Soviet guard stood watch, seperated from then by a barred gate blocking the entire hallway. The guard stood barely an inch from the gate, his back to the partisans. Gunner drew his knife as he quietly snuck up to the guard. He slowly stuck his arms through the bars. With lightning speed, he slapped his hand across the guard's mouth, the other hand drawing the razor-sharp knife across his throat. He caught the guard's body as it fell, carefully lowering it to the guard.  
"Clear." he said in a hushed tone.  
The other three came around the corner and pulled security as Gunner searched the body for keys. After searching for what seemed like a lifetime, he pulled the keys from his belt and opened the door. Gunner again checked his map, and directed them through the gate and down the first right. The hallway was dark, the walls bare.  
"Cheery place." Sarge said.  
"Solitary. According to my humint, seventh door on the right. Should be the last one." Gunner said.  
The hallway continued for about 100 meters before doors began to appear. Gunner counted off the doors before arriving at the proper one.  
"Let's see if this works." he said.  
He reached under his shirt and pulled out a key attached to a chain arround his neck. He stuck the key in the lock and turned it.  
Click.  
He opened the door and took a step in, barely managing to dodge the bowl thrown at his head.  
"What the fuck!" he yelled as he shined a red-lensed flashlight around the nearly pitch-black 8x8 cell, stopping on the figure of Susan sitting on the floor.  
"Oh, hi guys." she said.  
"It would be AWESOME if when we came to rescue you, you DIDN'T try to kill us!" Gunner said.  
Gunner looked a little closer at her. Her face was bruised and swollen.  
"You alright"  
"I've been better"  
"Can you walk? Run"  
Susan shifted her weight, revealing her legs. Her left leg was bruised and scraped, but looked fine. Her right leg though, was bent at an unnatural angle under her body"  
"Shit. Beth, check her out"  
Beth knelt down next to her and began examining her leg. Gunner kneeled just inside the doorway, covering the entrance.  
"Yeah, it's broken." Beth said.  
"Great. Stabilize quickly for movement." he said, leaning slightly around the doorway.  
Beth pulled some crevats and a wood slat from Boomer's pack and splinted her leg, administering some morphine.  
"We've been here to long. Let's hurry it up." Gunner said.  
"She's as good as she's gettin'. Let's go." Beth told him.  
Gunner ran out the door. Gunfire sounded, from both ends of the hall, before Gunner ducked back into the room.  
"That's not a good way to go"  
He turned to his radio as he fired around the corner.  
"Sparks! We need another way out"  
"Gimme a minute." Sparks said, fingers racing across his keyboard, the sounds of the keys sounding like the chirping of crickets over the radio.  
"Can we hurry it up"  
"Done! The wall to your left when facing the door. It's an external wall! Blow it"  
"Boomer! You heard the man"  
"Concussion'll kill us!" Boomer responded.  
"We can't go out that door"  
"Got it covered!" Boomer yelled as he rigged the wall seperating them from the next room.  
The det-cord cut through the thinner internal wall like it wasn't even there.  
"Get in there!" Gunner yelled.  
Smith jumped in, and Gunner helped manhandle Susan through the hole.  
"CLEAR!" Gunner yelled after everyone was out of the room.  
"Woo-hoo!" Boomer yelled, performing a superman dive through the hole. A massive explosion sounded from the next room just under a second later, fire billowing through the hole.  
"MOVE!" Gunner yelled, jumping through the hole and running into the parking lot.  
"Sarge! How's your hotwiring!" Gunner yelled as he ran through the parking lot trading fire with the commies.  
"I'm alright!" Sarge yelled taking off after him.  
"You'd better be BETTER that alright!" Gunner yelled, still firing.  
Sarge bashed in the window of a pick-up with the butt of his SMG. An cracking shot echoed off the walls and buildings around them.  
"Thanks Scope." Boomer said, fireman carrying Susan to the truck.  
"Hurry up Sarge!" Gunner yelled, firing bursts from behind a police car.  
"Shut-up! I don't work well under pressure!" he yelled back.  
"Done!" Sarge yelled, starting the engine.  
"Boomer! In the back with me! Everybody else, in the cab! Go go go"  
Everyone jumped in as Gunner and Boomer vaulted into the bed and went prone as Sarge gunned the engine. Sarge drove the truck on the shortest path to the road. This path just happened to take them through a chain-link fence. Boomer threw a section of fencing out of the bed of the truck as Gunner opened up on a Soviet jeep equiped with a PKM as it chased after them, bullets peppering the road feet below where Gunner lay.  
"Grenade!" he yelled to Boomer, reaching back.  
Boomer quickly placed a frag grenade in his open hand. Gunner came up to a crouch, and threw the grenade straight at the vehicle. The device hit the windshield, cracking it a fraction of a second before it detonated, shattering the glass, and shredding the driver and passenger with glass and metal fragments, as well as cutting the gunner off above the knees. The remains of the driver's leg continued pressing on the gas petal, and the jeep careened into a building, beginning to smolder.  
"Drive it like ya stole it!" Gunner yelled through the small sliding back window.  
"We did steal it!" Sarge yelled.  
"That's good! Use it"  
"We gotta ditch this wreck somewhere!" Boomer yelled.  
"How's the old garage on San Pedro!" Sarge yelled.  
It appeared that since the jeep had been destroyed, the Soviets were having a difficult time locating them, atleast temporarily.  
"We're not gonna make it to the garage! We gotta ditch under an overpass! They'll have helos out lookin' for us!" Gunner replied.  
"What about her?" Boomer asked, trying to act inconspicuous while laying with a shotgun in the back of the only vehicle on the road at the time.  
"There's a safehouse nearby! Hurry up and ditch the truck"  
Sarge pulled under the nearest overpass and parked it in the massive shadow. Gunner and Boomer jumped out of the bed as Sarge and Beth struggled to get Susan out of the vehicle.  
"Leave your weapons, keep your pistols hidden." Gunner said, him and Boomer each grabbing one of her arms and carrying her as if she were a drunken pal. They carried her about two blocks to a government-subsidized housing complex. Gunner looked around for several seconds, getting his bearings. He led them down the block and up two sets of stairs to an anonymous looking door, no different than the other several dozen doors on that floor.  
"Lemme do the talking." Gunner said as he knocked on the door.  
Almost a minute passed. The door suddenly opened several inches, only as much as the chain would allow. The room was dark, and they were unable to see anything inside.  
"I don't know you, and I don't want anything to do wit' you." a gruff voice said.  
"The time is now." Gunner whispered as he began to close the door.  
The man paused.  
"How fairs America"  
"America survives." Gunner replied.  
"For now." the man inside replied, closing the door.  
The door opened seconds later, and the man hustled them inside. Gunner and Boomer carried her in and laid her on the bed, Beth hurrying over to check on her condition.  
"I'm alright, really." she muttered as Beth gave her some more anesthetic.  
"What's her story?" the man asked.  
"She just got pulled from Bexar County penn"  
"No way, that shit's been all over police band!" he said, pointing a thumb at the police scanner set on a chair in the corner.  
"Yeah, well, we have a bad habit of making a scene where ever we go." Gunner said dryly.

0923 hrs.06Feb04

Susan awoke in the safehouse with a splitting headache. She looked around, seeing only the owner, standing watch.  
"Where'd the other guys go?" she asked.  
"They left last night. Just...dissappeared into the night"  
'And I never got to thank them. Oh well, I'm sure we'll meet again.' she thought. 


	3. Split Ops, Part I

1517 hrs.01Apr04

Two flashes from a signal mirror, Scope's way of telling him the convoy was close. Gunner lay in the cover of the line of bushes overlooking the seldom-used country road. He flashed a thumbs-up to Lurch and Smith, his ad-hoc weapons team. Armed with a PKM and an RPG respectively, they were the brunt of his firepower. And even though he couldn't see them, he knew Boomer, Sarge and Beth were just inside the wood line on the other side, waiting for their cue. Several minutes passed before the five vehicle Soviet convoy was in the proper position. Gunner triggered the charge in the drainage culvert just as the lead vehicle, a BMP, drove over it. The charges tore open the 'soft' underbelly of the APC, eviscerating the crew and most of the passengers. At the same moment, Smith fired the RPG, striking the rear vehicle, a BRDM, just below the turret, nearly blowing it in half. All that were left were three cargo trucks. Now it was Boomer's turn. He hit the clicker, detonating the half-dozen claymores set in the trees, thousands of steel balls tearing into the soft-sided trucks. Lurch fired off a fifty round belt into the remains of the vehicles, signaling for the final phase to begin. Beth, Boomer, and Sarge left the cover of the wood line, quickly dispatching any survivors with shotgun blasts or bison bursts. Boomer blew a short blast from a whistle, the all clear signal. Gunner, Smith, and Lurch with his reloaded PKM came down the hill as Sarge turned and flashed four times with his signal mirror, the signal for Scope to regroup with them. The six quickly searched through the wreckage, though there was little undamaged gear. Boomer stopped and took the time to spray paint the white skull and crossbones that had become the group's signature on the canvas of one of the trucks.  
"Hey Gunner, com'ere!" Boomer yelled from the remains of the last truck, the one that had been carrying about a dozen soldiers.  
"What?" he said, moving towards Boomer, Beth passing him at a run.  
Gunner walked around the truck, and saw what Beth and Boomer were clustered around. A Soviet soldier lay on the ground, missing his left leg just above the knee. Gunner pulled his pistol and leveled it at the man's face, just as he noticed the man's rank insignia.  
"A major." he said as he holstered his pistol and threw a mock salute.  
The graying man just groaned as Beth began tourniqueting his leg before Gunner motioned for her to stop, as well as for Boomer to take her around the truck.  
"We're gonna play a little game called 'Tell the Truth'. It's a real easy game. I ask you a question, and you tell me the truth, or I hurt you. A lot. Comprende?" he said, pulling out his leatherman.  
"First question. Why is a major tagging along with a supply convoy"  
"I will never tell you American pigs anything"  
Gunner shook his head and pulled out the tool's pliers.  
"Oooh, wrong answer"  
He stabbed the jaws of the pliers into the stump and fished around, finally finding the bone, giving it a good yank. The enemy officer turned even paler and stifled a scream.  
"Again. Why are you with a supply convoy?" he asked idly, poking the stump with the tip of his kukri.  
"I'm arggh...I'm an aeronautical engineer! They were taking me to-aahhh-to a lab, with some equipment." he said, gesturing to the second truck.  
" I don't know why"  
"Thank you." Gunner said, drawing his pistol and drilling the officer dead center in his forehead, splattering the asphalt w chunks of grey, red and pink.  
"Beth! Boomer! Check out the second truck! Pull anything that doesn't belong! Smith! Lurch! Sarge! Pull security!" Gunner yelled, jumping into the back of the first truck.  
Gunner searched through the boxes, managing to find a bottle of vodka and two undamaged ration packs, which he quickly stuffed into his backpack.  
"Gunner!" Beth yelled, her softer voice contrasting the deeper and harsher tones of the others.  
Gunner jumped from the back of the truck and sprinted over to where Boomer and Beth were standing in the back of the hole-ridden truck and looked at them expectantly.  
"Check this out." Boomer said, grunting as he pulled a small safe up to the tailgate.  
"Crack it." Gunner said.  
Boomer grinned and fished around in his pack for a minute, pulling out a small wad of plastique, a blasting cap with about a foot of det-cord attached, and an igniter. He used his knife to force the explosives as far into the keyhole as he could before detonating it, destroying the lock and blowing open the lid. Boomer reached in and pulled out the first sheet of paper he laid hands on, a set of electronics schematics. He and Gunner starred at them for several seconds.  
"What the hell is this?" Boomer whispered.  
"Dunno, but we've been here too long." Gunner said as he grabbed all the papers from the safe, rolled them up, and stuck them in Boomer's pack.  
"Let's go!" he yelled, as the seven partisans melted into the wood line.

1942 hrs.01Apr06

Gunner, Boomer, and Sparks clustered around Spark's 'plottin' table', now devoid of everything except the captured plans and blueprints.  
"See, me and Boomer were lookin' at this, and this shit is WAY above our level." Gunner said, still starring at the papers.  
"Yeah." Boomer agreed.  
Sparks pulled out his glasses and set them on his face.  
"Aight, I'll check this stuff over. I should have an answer for ya in the morning." he said, pulling out a pad and pencil, beginning to take his own notes.  
Gunner and Boomer walked away, leaving Sparks to work his magic in peace and quiet.  
"Think he'll figure it out?" Boomer asked.  
"He always does." Gunner replied.  
Boomer nodded.  
"Hey Beth, did ya read any of the shipping tags on those boxes? Anything that'd tell us where they're going?" Gunner asked her as he walked by.  
"Uh, yeah. Their new lab on the outskirts. The one just off I-10." she said, looking up from wiping-down her bison SMG with a rag.  
"Aight. You mind helpin' Sparks with translating the stuff we pulled outta that truck"  
"Sure, no prob." she said as she gathered up the pieces of her weapon, walked across the room, and plopped down on the floor next to Sparks' M-1 Garand.  
"You could have her anytime you wanted." Boomer muttered.  
"This is hardly the time, Boomer"  
Boomer shook his head. Gunner had been one of his best pals since a couple years before the invasion, along with Sarge. And during that whole time, Gunner had been unable to get a girlfriend, much less get laid, and now he had a chick practically falling all over and he didn't want to make a move. Sometimes he just didn't understand the guy.  
"Scope! Sarge! As soon as y'all are done with cleaning and refit, I want you two to go scout out this lab, just in case"  
The two looked over at him, Scopes nodded, his painted face bobbing up and down, while Sarge just flashed a thumbs-up with a carbon-stained hand.  
"Hey Gunner!" Fingers repeated excitedly, the short teen running up to him.  
"Huh?" Gunner said.  
"Word just came down the pipe about a guy in NYC. He's really stickin' it to the reds! They're callin' him 'The Freedom Phantom'! He's blown up bridges, helipads, even freed that anti-commie activist chick Isabella Angelina from a detention center!" he said, jumping up and down like a hyper-active twelve-year old.  
Gunner smirked slightly. It was somewhat reassuring to know he wasn't fighting alone.  
"That's good ta know, Fingers. Just remember, NYC is a ways away from her, I wouldn't expect much help from them. Tomorrow's gonna be crazy, so I'm gonna rack out, see ya tomorrow."

0553 hrs.02Apr06

Gunner poured himself a cup of something vaguely resembling coffee. He REALLY needed to get Beth to start making coffee again, Boomer was terrible at it.  
"Thank God he's got other uses." he muttered as he walked over to where Sparks had fallen asleep at his desk.  
"Sparks, Sparks..." he said gently shaking him.  
Sparks sprang up as if he had only laid his head down seconds ago, seeming completely refreshed, something that Gunner envied.  
"I assume you wanna know about the plans." he said with a grin as he adjusted his glasses.  
Gunner opened his mouth to affirm, but Sparks cut him off with a single word just as Boomer came up behind him.  
"Satellite." Sparks said proudly.  
Gunner and Boomer looked at each other, then back at Sparks.  
"Wha?" Boomer said.  
"The plans are for a modified version of the Soviet TZ-83 commercial telecommunications satellite, a very popular design due to it's modular payload abilities"  
"Alright, but cut to the part where it matters to us." Gunner said.  
Sparks turned deadly serious.  
"This appears to be a prototype. It's purpose is to jam all transmissions lacking a proper encoded prefix"  
"All transmissions?" Gunner asked, the gravity of the situation beginning to set in.  
"Everything. That means no Resistance TV, no Radio Free America, probably no walkies even. Hell, they might even be able to block wireless 'net access"  
"Great. We need to nail this and fast. Scope, whatcha get for recon?" he asked as the marksman walked up behind him.  
"I'll have it sand tabled in a few, but I think this one's beyond us. Lotsa guards, I counted 34, total estimate is closer to fifty, a high concrete wall around the perimeter, a pillbox at the gate a pair of BRDMs on patrol. Scope also spotted a mortar team in overwatch.  
Gunner grimaced.  
"Mortars are bad news. Lemme know when the sand table's up." he said.  
Scope nodded and called Sarge over to help him with the set-up.  
Gunner checked his personal ammo supply while they worked. About 200 rounds of .45 ACP, he was good on pistol ammo. But he was down to six mags and change of 5.56, he'd probably need to switch to an AK after this mission until they got more. Gunner sighed. He hated AKs, not accurate enough for him.  
"Gunner!" Boomer yelled, waving him over to the sand table, a six by four foot table filled with 3 inches of sand in which Sarge and Scope had crafted with legos, string and paper markers, a more-or-less accurate layout of the facility.  
The two stood off to the side as Gunner examined the target.  
"And what's in that pillbox"  
"Looked like a Dash-k and probably a rifle or two"  
Gunner nodded. That was about what he had expected.  
"This wall. How tall and how thick"  
"'Bout ten feet tall and eight inches thick." Scopes said.  
"Blowin' a man-sized hole would take damn near my whole stash." Boomer added in from behind Gunner.  
"Plus they topped the wall. Angled barbed wire wrapped in concertina. No up'n over"  
Gunner starred at the layout for several minutes, rubbing his chin.  
"What's this?" he asked, pointing to the eastern edge.  
"Railroad tracks. We think they use it to bring in large components"  
Gunner grinned.  
"Boys, I think we just found our way in. Boomer, you know how to rob a train"  
"Boomer grinned. Gunner turned his attention back to Sparks.  
"Plan us a train schedule, Sparks." he said before returning to Boomer.  
"We're gonna need a diversion. Boomer, call your girlfriend. Gunner said with a sigh.  
Boomer glared at him.  
"Susan is NOT my girlfriend. Unfortunately"  
"Whatever. Tell her to get here ASAP"  
Boomer threw a mock salute and ran off.  
"Sarge"  
"Wuzzup"  
"Sarge, we're gonna need to hit this from three sides. I want you to lead a team to take out the mortar...here." he said, pointing on the sand table.  
"You gotta do this QUIET. I don't have team assignments yet, but you're gettin' Beth since she's the only one of us who speaks Russian and we might need to report on their radio. Boomer'll be with me on the assault element, as will Sparks. The last element'll be Susan's people staging a diversion. As soon as we get more info you guys'll know."

2207 hrs.02Apr06

"Twelve to fifteen outta do it, preferably with vehicle support. Got any technicals with heavies available? We need y'all to act as a distraction, and there's a lot of reds out there." Gunner said.  
"Maybe. It all depends on who I can call up. How long do I have to get this together?" Susan asked.  
"The night after next. Get'em up here so we can give the briefing. By the way, trans is on you. Remember, 1400 on the fourth"  
"Alright, I'll have everybody here. Don't start the fun without me"  
Gunner rolled his eyes.  
"Indeed. Just make sure to bring some big guns. You got a lot to deal with out there. Anyway, see yourself out. I wanna get some sleep while I can."

0923 hrs.03Apr06

Gunner allowed himself to wake slowly, he was seldom allowed to sleep in, much less with a full night's sleep behind it. He yawned, stretched and then sat up on his cot. He looked at the cot next to him, Beth's cot. She lay sprawled on her cot, one arm hanging over the side.  
'Even like this, she looks so'  
Gunner started to reach over.  
'No. This isn't the time. Someday, maybe. But not now'  
Gunner got up, still half dressed and pulled on his boots and a shirt before grabbing a Soviet ration pack for breakfast and walking out of the office.  
"Yo Gunner! I got you an angle on your ride in." Sparks called.  
"Wuzzup"  
Sparks motioned him over as he pulled up a map on one of his computers.  
"Alright. Now, this train leaves the station at the 'Corpus docks and doesn't stop until it hits the labs"  
"Not seein' how this helps..." Gunner interrupted.  
"Shut-up. Anyway, right here." he said, pointing to a spot on his map.  
"There's a bridge over the tracks. You could, in theory, jump onto the train from there"  
"Lemme get this straight. You want me to jump onto a moving train, right"  
"Yeah, that's pretty much it"  
"And you're sure it'll work"  
"Yeah"  
"Good, 'cause, you, Boomer and Lurch are comin' with me"  
"What"  
"You know those plans better than any of us. You're with the infil team. By the way, what's the time table for this trip look like"  
"We catch the train at about 2215 give or take about 15. Train arrives at destination about 2310 or so"  
"Alright. I'll pass out the info. Have your stuff ready to go by 1800 tomorrow"  
Sparks responded with a thumbs-up.

1403 hrs.04Apr06

Boomer stuck his head in the office door.  
"Hey, Susan and her people just showed up." he said.  
Gunner stuck his head out the door. A crowd of about a dozen people, most ranging from high teens to early twenties in age, stood around in the bay. Many were dressed club-wear, and all but four have hair ranging from pink to light blue in color. "What in God's name! Did a rave take a dump in there!" he yelled after pulling his head back in.  
Boomer shrugged.  
"Are we sure about these guys? Look at the guy at the end. He's walkin' around with his bayonet fixed. He won't hit shit!" Gunner said as he walked to the door.  
"He's got an AK, he won't hit shit anyway. besides, they don't gotta do well, they gotta take a while to die, right?" Boomer said.  
"That's true for all of us." Gunner muttered as he walked out.  
He looked out over the small crowd.  
"Alright everybody, listen up! Here's how tonight's mission is gonna go down...!" he began. 


End file.
